Concrete stain on painted sloped floor

I have my first house that I am repairing. The current project that I am working on is 2 rooms in the basement. I have a painted concrete floor that has severe slopes. I have no interest in leveling the floor. However I would like to have the polished stained concrete final look.

Before I invest too much time/money I was wondering if anyone could provide decent advice.

I know that “Lowes” and “Home Depot” sell Etching material that is suggested to be used on new concrete. Can anyone tell me if this etching is capable of removing the paint, as well as provide the necessary etching in one step? What consistency is the etching compound? Will I be able to apply it evenly to the sloped floor (~5" drop over 10' run, then levels off and rises at same incline).

If this etching can clean and etch the surface are their any intermediate steps prior to adding the stain? What consistency is the stain; can it once again be used on my sloped floors? Are there any locations to obtain stains/tips that anyone can provide? I've read that 2 coats are necessary. Once your final coat is dry does the floor need a sanding/polishing/buffing prior to applying a sealant? What sealants are good/how many coats are needed?

What steps may I have missed? How much of a nightmare is this project/ what will it cost me to do ~600-700 ft^2?

Thanks for any help you can give!

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Concrete stain on painted sloped floor

So-called "etching compounds" are of course acidic in nature. Acids as they relate to concrete are very misunderstood. Acids intended for use on concrete will not touch the paint, that's not what they do. They will however eat-away at the portland cement and likely cause unwanted imperfections in the cements surface.

Concrete stain on painted sloped floor

You can get some good information from the Gaye Goodman website mentioned in the above thread. Of course she is much too important to deal with you personally but the subscribers there at the forums can be a great help. You can also buy everything you need through her website.

Concrete stain on painted sloped floor

if you want to look there, its been asked & answered many times - same w/decorativeconcrete's & elitecrete's,,, purely in the interest of saving you time & to negate your causing aggravation to us in them here's what we pro's usually do,,, grab a grinder w/dust shroud from any apron store & grind off the paint,,, you'll also need diamond cup wheel ( either 12 or 24 seg ), personal dust protection, knee pads, wet/dry vac, & safety glass's,,, if you use acid, you'll largely destroy the free lime necessary for an acid-stain's reactivity,,, in other words, never use acid on any conc that's scheduled to be acid-stain'd,,, we use garden sprinkle cans for acid application but, since you're acid-staining, you won't

1 more tip - don't listen to the apron-wearers as they're ignorant of decorative concrete methods,,, apron stores won't invest the $ for their education.

w/that slope, probably won't work UNLESS you stain thin enough so the liquid doesn't 'run',,, far's consistency, its the same's wtr,,, should be able to grind that space in 1 day,,, since wtr runs downhill, so will the acid,,, the best method'll be to buy a hand sprayer ( 2 L ) & apply 2 or more coats til you find the color you like,,, caution - any sealer'll darken/enhance the color.

find acid-reactive wherever you want - ours is proprietary but you'll be able to find weaker solutions.

polishing's an entirely different process & beyond the means/abilities of diy-er's/h-s's in my not so humble opinion

ps - you'll need to neutralize the acid when its finished & rinse WELL several times to adjust the conc's pH - then let it dry well & seal.